Growing Up With Gin-Gin
by keeptheotherone
Summary: Unbeknownst to Ginny and Harry, her brothers have planned a surprise montage for their wedding reception of the boys' favorite memories of growing up with their baby sister.
1. Bill

A/N: The real genre for this story is "sweet, tooth-rotting fluff," but since that's not an official option... I came across a fan art by Leela Starsky about three years ago, and it inspired this whole fic. You can view it here: leelastarsky dot deviantart dot com/art/It-s-a-Girl-31228420 (please let me know if the link doesn't work!). This fic is long for a one-shot but makes very short chapters, so I decided I'd do one update a day for each brother. Enjoy!

* * *

 _15 September, 2001_

 _The Excalibur Hotel Ballroom_

 _Diagon Alley, London_

George stood up, tapping his goblet with a fork. "Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please!"

The room filled with Weasleys, Aurors, professional Quidditch players, former Dumbledore's Army members, and Hogwarts professors gradually quieted as everyone turned their attention to the head table, where the wedding party and the bride's immediate family were seated in a long line. George waited until the silence was absolute, until every eye was on him, before lowering his hands.

"Thank you," he said, and sat down—then grinned and stood up again when everyone laughed.

"When Ginny asked me to be Master of Ceremonies for her and Harry's reception, she made me promise not to say anything bad about Harry, but she forgot to include herself." He grinned down at his sister as the guests laughed again. "So, it is with great pleasure, and the assistance of my brilliant eventual sister-in-law, Miss Hermione Granger-Someday-Weasley—" More laughter, mostly at Ron's and Hermione's expressions this time— "that we present a collection of memories of my baby sister, Mrs. Ginevra Molly Weasley Potter." He winked at Harry, who beamed at this first use of Ginny's married name.

"Hermione figured out how to modify a Muggle technology to allow us to record and edit Pensieve memories. What you're about to see is some of our favorite memories of growing up with Gin-Gin." He dodged Ginny's first slap at the use of the childhood nickname, but since he was standing right beside her, she landed the second one.

George cleared his throat and waved his wand. " _Nox_."

As the room went dark, Hermione pointed a modified remote at a VCR hidden behind a topiary, and with a flicker, writing appeared on the blank white wall behind them: _The Day EVERYTHING Changed by Bill Weasley_. The guests chuckled and the writing faded to reveal Molly and Arthur's bedroom. A soft murmur swept over the crowd and Hermione smiled. Ron squeezed her shoulder.

 _A much younger Molly Weasley sat up in bed with her husband beside her and a pink-wrapped bundle in her arms. Bill, Charlie (carrying Ron), Percy, Fred, and George gathered in the doorway._

 _"_ _It's all right," Molly said. "Come in and meet your new sister."_

 _Bill stopped in his tracks. "Sister? It really is a girl?"_

 _"_ _It's a girl. We've named her Ginevra."_

 _The boys approached the bed slowly, climbing up and surrounding their mother only after repeated reassurances. Molly laid the baby in her lap and unwrapped her for the boys to see._

 _"_ _She's so tiny," Charlie said. "Smaller than the twins, even."_

 _Percy laid one finger in the baby's palm, and she clutched it tightly. "She's strong," he said in surprise._

 _"_ _Where's our brother?" Fred demanded, arms crossed. "You said we were getting another brother. Where is he?"_

 _"_ _We said you would have a new brother_ or _sister," Arthur said. "This time, you have a little sister. Would you like to hold her?"_

 _Fred's arms remained stubbornly crossed but George held his out, and Arthur carefully transferred the baby to him._

 _"_ _Hi, Ginver."_

 _"_ _Ginevra."_

 _"_ _Hi, Gin-vra."_

 _"_ _Gi-neh-vra."_

 _George's little face creased into a frown._

 _Fred put a hand on his twin's shoulder and leaned over the baby. "Hi, Gin-Gin. I'm your brother Fred. That's George."_

Ginny gasped and leaned towards George. "Why didn't you ever tell me it was Fred who came up with that name?"

George smiled at her but said nothing.

 _Ginny was passed from brother to brother, finally ending up in Bill's arms, where she started to fuss. He bounced her gently and she calmed, sucking on one tiny fist. Ron had been following her progress around the bed and crawled up Bill's legs for a closer look._

 _"_ _See, Ronnie?" Bill said, turning the baby towards the toddler. "It's your turn to be a big brother now. This is your baby sister."_

 _"_ _Thith-ter?" Ron said hesitantly. This was obviously a new word in his vocabulary._

 _"_ _It's what you call a girl brother," Percy informed him._

The guests, and the wedding party, laughed.

 _Ron patted the baby on the chest. "Hi, Gin-Gin. Luv you."_

As everyone "awww'd," Ginny looked past Harry to Ron, whose ears were red but who was smiling at her. "Love you too," she mouthed as the bedroom scene faded away.

 ** _The Day My Baby Brother Became a Big Brother by Bill Weasley_**

 _Ron and Ginny trailed behind their brothers as the seven children walked down a Muggle street. The older boys talked and carried on, paying no attention to the preschoolers, both of whom were sucking happily on sweets. As they passed a playground, a boy stepped forward and bumped Ginny, sending her fistful of peppermints flying._

 _"_ _Tha's mine!" Ginny said, scrambling after the boy's friends, who were pocketing the sweets. One of them gave her a hard shove, sending her toppling into the dirt._

 _"_ _Oi!" Ron said angrily, squaring off with the boy nearly twice his size. "That's my baby sister!"_

 _Ginny picked herself up and stood beside Ron. "Mine," she said, pointing to the boy's pocket. "Give them back!"_

 _"_ _Who's gonna make me?" the boy sneered. "A ginger runt like you?"_

 _"_ _BILL!" Ron bellowed, his protective stance unchanging. "CHARLIE!"_

 _Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George came barreling down the street._

 _"_ _What did you do to my brother and sister?" Bill demanded._

 _"_ _He knocked Ginny's sweets out of her hand—" Ron pointed at the offending boy, hanging back at the arrival of three boys older than all of them— "and_ he _knocked Ginny down."_

 _"_ _My sweets, Bill," Ginny said, pointing at the bully's pocket again. "Mine!"_

 _"_ _Give them back." Charlie crossed his arms over his chest._

 _"_ _What are you, seven?" Bill said as the boy held the mints out to Ginny. "She's just a baby! Pick on somebody your own size next time."_

 _Ginny blew a raspberry as the boys ran off._

 _"_ _C'mere, Gin-Gin," Percy said, kneeling down on the pavement._

 _Ginny ran over to him as Bill reached down and ruffled Ron's hair._

 _"_ _Well done, Ronnie."_

 _Ron's face shone with pride. Ginny had climbed up to sit on Percy's shoulders with a new peppermint in her mouth and one sticky hand on Percy's forehead for balance._

 _"_ _Ron too," she said, and Charlie lifted Ron to his shoulders, walking beside Percy so Ginny and Ron could trade sweets as the children walked back home._

"Do you remember that?" Harry said to Ginny.

"Not at all," she said, bemused. "Ron?"

He shook his head. "Me neither."


	2. Charlie

Ginny turned her head from side to side as her brothers and Harry laughed at the writing that appeared next.

 ** _The Only Real Rule by Charlie Weasley_**

 _Five boys sat around the Weasleys' scrubbed kitchen table in addition to Ron in his high chair next to Arthur._

 _"_ _Daddy has to go back to work today, and I need you to be very good and help Mummy and play quietly so the baby doesn't cry. Can you all do that?"_

 _Six ginger heads nodded solemnly._

 _The scene shifted, and Ron stood over Ginny's bassinet in the sitting room, one hand reaching for the dummy in the sleeping baby's mouth._

 _"_ _Ron!" Charlie whispered loudly. "Don't take her binky—you'll make her cry."_

 _The same room, a couple of years later. Ron, Fred, and George wrestled in a heap of arms and legs as Percy sat reading in an armchair, oblivious to the noise of feet and elbows banging walls and knees and heads thunking against the floor._

 _Charlie came down the stairs. "Percy, you're supposed to be watching them. I can hear you lot in my room. Knock it off—you're going to wake Ginny and then she'll start to cry!"_

 _Fairy lights strung on the bannister and a parade of boys in hand-knitted jumpers stampeding down the stairs. Molly exited Ginny's room and stopped a sheepish-looking Bill as Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron stacked up behind him._

 _"_ _Your sister is sick, and if you make her cry, she will not be the only one wailing!"_

 _An adult Charlie knelt in front of a fireplace with Bill's head floating in emerald flames._

 _"_ _If Voldemort ever comes back—if he comes out in the open—"_

 _"_ _We'll get him," Charlie promised. "We'll make him pay."_

 _"_ _He made Ginny cry," Bill said._

 _"_ _Never again. She's our baby sister."_

 _Five men sat on a roof at night as a teenage Harry stood among them._

 _"_ _Are we going to do this_ every _summer?"_

 _"_ _Sit down, Harry," Bill said pleasantly._

 _Harry crossed his arms and remained standing. "If this is about Ginny—"_

 _"_ _You know, Harry," George said, "you've spent enough time at the Burrow over the last six years to know most of the house rules."_

 _"_ _Don't leave wet towels lying in the bathroom," Percy offered._

 _"_ _No fighting in the house," Charlie said._

 _"_ _If you eat the last of something, write it on the shopping list," Ron said._

 _"_ _I know all that," Harry said._

 _"_ _But for the last sixteen, almost seventeen years, there's really only been one important rule in the Weasley family," Bill said._

 _"_ _What's that?"_

 _Charlie joined all of his brothers as they quoted it together. "Don't make Ginny cry."_

"That's still true, Potter," Charlie called down the table.

"Tell it to Gwenog," Harry retorted as the scene on the wall changed again.

 ** _Why I Moved to Romania by Charlie Weasley_**

 _Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George sat on Ginny's bed with an almost-grown Charlie in a chair beside it and several books on his lap._

 _"_ _Harry Potter."_

 _"_ _Ginny, I read_ The Boy Who Lived _last night," Charlie protested._

 _"_ _And the night before that—" Fred said._

 _"_ _And the night before that!" George said._

 _"_ _I want Babbity Rabitty," Ron said._

 _"_ _Harry Potter," Ginny said._

 _"_ _No!" her brothers shouted._

 _Ginny's face crumpled and her lower lip turned out ever so slightly._

 _"_ _Okay, okay," Charlie said hastily. "How about your favorite story from Beedle, hmm? 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune'?"_

 _"_ _Harry Potter."_

 _Fred and George groaned._

 _"_ _Let's read something different tonight, and you can read Harry Potter yourself," Charlie said. "I'll charm the door for you so Mum won't see your light on."_

 _"_ _Read it?" Ron muttered. "She has it memorized."_

 _In a red plaid flannel nightdress that clashed horribly with the ginger plaits over her shoulders, Ginny looked directly at Charlie and said, "Bill always read me Harry Potter."_

 _Charlie sighed. "It would be worth moving to Egypt just to not have to read that stupid story ever again." But he shuffled through the stack and pulled out a book with a dark-haired baby on the cover. "'Not so long ago, and not very far away, lived a boy by the name of Harry Potter….' "_

Ginny had slunk down in her chair as much as her wedding dress allowed, one hand over her red face and the other making a rude gesture in the direction of her second-oldest brother. Only when the picture darkened to the scarlet background that preceded each memory did she drop her hand to see what was next.


	3. Percy

**_Never, Ever Mess With Ginny and Ron Together by Percy Weasley_**

 _Ron, Ginny, and Percy stood arguing in the Burrow's kitchen._

 _"_ _Give it back!" Ron shouted, jumping for the wooden sword held out of his reach by Percy._

 _"_ _We're playing knights and castles, and Ron needs the sword," Ginny insisted, adjusting her tiara. "It's his sword, he had it first!"_

 _"_ _He's going to poke your eye out," Percy retorted, keeping his sister at bay with his free hand._

 _"_ _No, I won't," Ron said, continuing his fruitless efforts to reach the sword several feet over his head. "I'm going to rescue her with it, not hurt her."_

 _"_ _And then I'm going to kill the dragon," Ginny said._

 _"_ _You slay dragons, Ginny, you don't kill them," Ron informed her._

 _"_ _Fine. We need the sword so I can take it from Ron and slay the dragon," Ginny said._

 _"_ _Use an imaginary sword."_

 _"_ _We already have an imaginary castle. We want a real sword," Ginny said, squirming against Percy's grip on her shoulder. "Fred and George said we could play with it. Now give it back!"_

 _"_ _I will not. You're going to get hurt. Mum left me in charge, and I say—"_

 _Ron managed to swat Percy's arm, and Ginny seized her opportunity. She fisted both little hands together and brought them up hard between Percy's legs. He doubled over with a wheeze, Ron snatched the sword that was now within his reach, and he and Ginny ran outside, ignoring their brother rolling on the kitchen floor in agony._

Ron leaned around Harry to speak to Ginny. "I remember that."

"Me too." Ginny grinned. "You tore a hole in my shirt when you were pretending to stab the evil wizard who had captured me. Mum wouldn't let you have dessert, so I sneaked you a fruit tart after we were all supposed to be in bed."

 ** _These Are Not Your Brothers by Percy Weasley_**

 _30 May 1993_

Murmuring spread among the guests as Hogwarts professors and former pupils realized this was after Ginny had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets.

 _The screen was completely black but a memory was playing; snoring could be heard. A shaft of silvery light split the darkness, revealing a girl holding back a curtain and a blanket-covered lump on the bed in front of her. The outline of another curtained four-poster was visible behind her._

 _"_ _Percy," Ginny whispered, prodding the sleeping body in front of her. "Percy, wake up!"_

 _Percy rolled over and blinked sleepily. "Ginny?" He fumbled on the bedside table for his glasses and wand, which he lit with a nonverbal spell._

 _"_ _What are you doing here?" he hissed, shining his wand light around the room to make sure no one had noticed her. "This is the boys' dormitory!"_

 _"_ _I couldn't sleep." In the faint light from the moon and Percy's wand, with her hair braided in two pigtails and shivering slightly in her white nightdress, she looked small and pitiful._

 _Percy softened immediately, reaching out to rub her back. "Why don't you go up and sleep with Ron?"_

 _Ginny looked horrified, and her voice dropped further. "I can't do that—_ he's _in there!"_

 _Percy smiled at this reminder of her crush on Harry Potter._

 _"_ _Can I stay with you? Just for tonight, I promise. Please, Perce?"_

 _He looked around the room again, then at the pleading eyes of his sister, and sighed and lifted the covers. "All right. Just this once, mind."_

 _Ginny's worried face transformed into a smile and she hopped into the bed, pulling the pillow closer to her and settling down immediately. Percy lay down beside her and rubbed noses._

 _Ginny smiled, eyes already closed. "I love you, Percy."_

 _"_ _I love you, Gin-Gin. I'm glad you're okay."_

 _Now Percy was the one shaking Ginny awake as sunlight filtered through the deep red curtains. His quiet voice was drowned out by the conversations and morning noise of the other boys in the dormitory. Finally, Ginny stirred._

 _"_ _Oh, good morning, Perce."_

 _"_ _Keep your voice down," Percy whispered, but it was too late—the boys' dormitory had gone suddenly silent at the sound of a female voice from the prefect's bed._

 _Ginny sat up and rubbed her eyes with both fists. "I'll go downstairs now."_

 _"_ _Let me make sure everyone is dressed first."_

 _"_ _Why? It's not like I've never seen boys in the morning."_

 _"_ _These are not your brothers."_

 _Ginny dodged Percy's outstretched arm but stopped abruptly as she came nose to navel with the lean body of Brian Dunstan, whose pajama shirt had just cleared his head and slid down his arms._

 _Brian smiled at Ginny, who turned pinker by the second. "Hello."_

 _"_ _H—hello." She backed up against Percy's bed and averted her eyes as Brian and another boy resumed dressing._

 _"_ _Oh, hey, Ginny." Oliver Wood stepped out of the bathroom with a towel slung low around his hips, his hair wet and spiky from the shower._

Several whistles rang out from the left side of the ballroom, where Ginny's teammates were seated.

 _Ginny's face was nearly the same color as her hair, and her gaze fell somewhere around the young man's knees. "Hi, Oliver."_

 _"_ _Stay right there," Percy warned her. "I'll walk you back to your dormitory after I get dressed."_

 _"_ _I don't want to wait. I'm hungry!"_

 _"_ _Percy's right, Ginny," Oliver said. "You shouldn't be walking through the boys' dormitory by yourself, especially not dressed like that."_

 _Ginny looked down at her modest nightdress tied with a ribbon at the neckline and back to Oliver. "What's wrong with how I'm dressed?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, Oliver." Percy's sarcastic voice floated out from the bathroom. "What's wrong with how she's dressed?"_

 _Oliver looked from Ginny's puzzled expression to the other two boys._

 _"_ _Sorry, Oliver," Brian said. "You said it, you explain it."_

 _Oliver looked almost as uncomfortable as Ginny had a few minutes earlier. "Well, er … I just meant that, um … somebody might—might try to hex you. You don't have your wand with you, do you?"_

 _Ginny's expression cleared. "I have brothers on every other floor. He'd have to be stupid, even for a boy."_

 _"_ _Here. Wear this." Percy reappeared with robes and prefect badge in place and tossed his pajama shirt to his sister, who stepped sideways and watched it fall onto the floor._

 _Percy picked it up and gathered it in his hands, as if preparing to push it over her head. He and Ginny were still arguing as the scene faded._

Harry leaned close to whisper to his wife. "Is that the same nightdress—"

"Yes."

"Merlin, Ginny, no wonder it was so tight!"

She grinned at him, and the picture changed again.

* * *

a/n: The nightdress first-year Ginny wears here is the same one referred to in "Don't Forget" and the last chapter of "Faintest, Slimmest Wildest Chance."


	4. George

A hush fell over the crowd as they saw both names on the next screen. Ginny shot a glance at George, but he stared straight ahead.

 ** _Ginny Makes the Best Co-Conspirator by Fred and George Weasley_**

 _Four children stood in the center of a completely trashed kitchen. Flour covered every surface, egg dripped from the ceiling and the table, a trail of cooking oil spread from a puddle between the twins to the cupboard (where Mrs. Weasley's potions cabinet had several open drawers), and clumps of dough dotted Ginny's hair and Ron's eyelashes. Fred and George looked at each other._

 _"_ _Not the reaction we were expecting," Fred said._

 _The kitchen door opened. "Boys!" Mr. Weasley said, clearly by reflex, before stopping short and staring around the room in amazement. "What in Godric's name—"_

 _"_ _It was an accident, Daddy," Ginny said quickly, stepping forward._

 _"_ _An accident of what, exactly?" Mr. Weasley crossed his arms and glared at the twins._

 _Fred and George looked at each other, trying to determine who had the best lie, while Ron simply looked guilty._

 _"_ _A cake. We were baking a cake for Mummy's birthday," Ginny said. "We know we're not s'pos'd to use the oven, so we thought if we used our magic, all four of us, it would be enough to cook the cake. But it 'sploded instead."_

 _Mr. Weasley raised his eyebrows. "Your mother's birthday is not until next month."_

 _"_ _We know," Ginny said. "We wanted to practice, so it would be perfect on her birthday. We need practice, Daddy." She looked up at her father with earnest brown eyes._

 _Mr. Weasley dropped his arms, sighed, and pulled out his wand. "That you do, sunshine."_

The kitchen faded to black and a picture reformed of a torch-lit stone corridor, easily identifiable as somewhere in Hogwarts.

 _Two ginger boys walked briskly away from the camera._

 _"_ _Misters Weasley!"_

A round of laughter rose from the audience as everyone recognized the crisp voice of Professor Minerva McGonagall.

 _Fred and George turned, revealing the small frame of their sister between them._

 _"_ _And Miss Weasley," McGonagall amended. "What are the three of you doing outside Gryffindor Tower after curfew?"_

 _"_ _It's my fault, Professor," Ginny said, shifting the books in her arms. "I got lost coming back from the library, and when Fred and George noticed I wasn't in the Tower, they came looking for me."_

 _"_ _She's just a first-year, Professor," Fred said. "You know what the castle is like, with the portraits moving around all the time."_

 _"_ _Nearly impossible to find a fixed landmark, it is," George added._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, Professor," Ginny said. "Please don't take points from Gryffindor when they were just trying to help me."_

 _"_ _Straight back to the Tower this instant," McGonagall said. "And if I catch you two out after curfew again, it will be points and a detention, sister or no."_

 _"_ _Yes, Professor," George said._

 _"_ _Thank you, Professor McGonagall," Ginny said._

 _"_ _Cheers, Professor," Fred said._

 _"_ _Now!"_

 _The three siblings moved silently towards Gryffindor Tower until they turned a corner and McGonagall was out of sight._

 _"_ _Nice save, Ginny," George said._

 _"_ _It's not a save yet," Fred said. "As soon as McGonagall finds out Filch's office was booby-trapped, we'll be her first suspects."_

 _"_ _No, you won't," Ginny said. "That corridor is on a direct path from the library to Gryffindor Tower, but if you were coming from Filch's office, the fastest route is to take the shortcut on the north side of the castle. She can't suspect you because she's your alibi."_

 _Fred and George stopped, staring at Ginny with new respect._

 _"_ _You know, Forge, we might need to take Ginny with us on these excursions more often."_

 _"_ _I was thinking that very thing, Gred."_

 _"_ _And you two didn't want me to bring any books," Ginny scoffed, then continued walking. "I accept payment in the form of chocolate, coins, and completed essays."_

Another fade to black, followed by the appearance of Ginny, Fred, and George in a parlor-turned-bedroom. Ginny looked about five years older, and George was missing an ear.

 _At the sound of footsteps and voices, the twins froze, Fred's wand still in his cauldron and George's quill poised over an invoice, but Ginny leapt up from the sofa and went into the hallway. Her voice drifted through the door she closed behind her._

 _"_ _Auntie, there you are. Tell me again, is it fourteen or fifteen generations since the last Weasley girl? I forget."_

 _A muffled thumping noise that sounded like a cane on a heavy rug carried through the door. "You are the first Weasley girl in eleven generations, Ginevra. I've told you this countless times. I'm going to die, sooner rather than later if your fiendish brothers have any say in the matter—"_

 _Fred and George grinned and nodded at each other._

 _"_ _And no one is going to remember anything. The Weasleys will die out—"_

 _"_ _I have six brothers, Auntie. I don't think—"_

 _"_ _Six unmarried brothers," Auntie Muriel corrected her. "A wizard must marry and beget children in order to—"_

 _The voices faded in volume, but Ginny's was still audible as she interrupted the old woman. "Eleven generations—is that eleven generations before me, or am I number eleven?"_

 _Auntie Muriel's reply was indistinguishable except for the aggrieved tone._

 _"_ _Ginny will keep her busy for a while," George said, scribbling his signature and folding the invoice into a box as Fred decanted the potion into vials._

 ** _Ginny Gets Away With Everything by Fred and George Weasley_**

 _A pigtailed Ginny stretched her little hands towards the biscuit tin. "Higher, Fred, I can't reach it."_

 _Fred shifted on George's shoulders, George stepped closer to the cupboard, and Ginny touched the red-and-green tin. "Just—a little—more—"_

 _Ginny, who had been sitting on Fred's shoulders, grabbed a hank of his hair and stood up._

 _"_ _Ow!"_

 _"_ _Shh!"_

 _"_ _I've got it!"_

 _"_ _Careful," George said, backing away slowly. "Don't drop it."_

 _"_ _Don't drop me," Ginny retorted, skinny arms wrapped around the heavy ceramic and one hand securing the lid. Fred's hands wrapped round her sock-clad ankles held her in place._

 _She scrambled onto the table, and Fred jumped down from George's shoulders. They had just taken a biscuit each when Charlie walked into the kitchen._

 _"_ _What are you lot doing?"_

 _"_ _Chawlie!" Ginny said in delight. "Up!" She raised both hands over her head, biscuit hidden in her grip._

Harry snorted at the sudden return of baby talk and sent a pointed glance in Charlie's direction.

 _Charlie picked her up at once, but before he could scold the twins, Ginny pointed at the biscuit in Fred's hand._

 _"_ _Mine!"_

 _"_ _It is not!"_

 _"_ _Really, Fred," Charlie said disapprovingly, snatching the biscuit from Fred's hand and offering it to Ginny, who crammed it into her mouth in its entirety. "Taking biscuits from a baby."_

 _Fred's face screwed up in indignation. "I didn't! She—"_

 _"_ _Enough," Charlie said, putting the lid on the tin and returning it to the shelf. "If you're going to sneak biscuits, the least you can do is share."_

 _Ginny, her original biscuit still tightly clutched in the hand behind Charlie's back, laid her head on Charlie's shoulder and looked up at him with an adorable, wide-eyed expression. "Tank-oo, Chawlie," she said sweetly, and he visibly softened._

Harry was laughing hard now, even as Charlie looked sheepish, Hermione scandalized, and Ron resigned.

 _Charlie brushed some crumbs from her face. Ginny popped the last of her own biscuit into her mouth and smiled widely at Fred, one little foot extending to poke him playfully in the shoulder, and the indignation on Fred's face slowly drained away. He grabbed her foot and began tickling it, laughing with her as Ginny's high-pitched giggles filled the air. Charlie played along, alternately pulling Ginny away from the twins and turning so she was within their reach, and all four of them laughed freely as the scene faded to black._

 ** _Brothers Are No Match for Bun-Bun by Fred and George Weasley_**

 _One small boy stood over the bed of another. A baby cried in the background._

 _"_ _George! George, wake up!" Fred reached out and shook his shoulder. "Wake up, George, it's Gin-Gin!"_

 _"_ _Huh? What?"_

 _"_ _It's Gin-Gin. She's crying."_

 _George rolled over. "Mum'll get her."_

 _"_ _No, she won't," Fred said, shoving both hands into his brother's back so he couldn't get comfortable. "I heard her telling Dad it was time for Ginny to learn to sleep by herself. She's all alone in there and she's scared. Can't you hear her?"_

 _"'_ _s nighttime, Freddie. We're s'posed to be asleep."_

 _"_ _So is Ginny," Fred retorted. "Come on, George!"_

 _Fred pulled and tugged, and finally two long shadows, much bigger than their owners, crept out of the room, down the stairs, and opened a door. The noise intensified significantly._

 _"_ _Shh, Gin-Gin, it's okay," Fred whispered._

 _Softly glowing stars on the ceiling revealed a baby girl in footie pajamas standing at the side of her cot, face glistening with snot and tears. Ginny's cries settled into snuffling when she spotted her brothers. Taking her fingers out of her mouth, she wrapped her hands around the slats and pressed her face close to them. Fred placed his hands over hers as he and George studied the cot with unusually serious expressions._

 _"_ _How are we going to get her out?" Fred said, looking up at the top of the rail, which was well above their heads._

 _"_ _I don't think we can," George whispered back. "It's too high."_

 _At the failure of her situation to change despite the arrival of two brothers, Ginny shook the rail and began fussing again._

 _Fred and George reached through the slats and patted her._

 _"_ _It's okay, Gin-Gin, we're not going to leave you alone. Can you climb out? Like this, see?" Fred raised one foot to the mattress. Ginny paused her crying to watch her brother's strange behavior but made no attempt to imitate him._

 _"_ _Just lift up one foot—" George grasped one pajama-covered foot and pulled, but Ginny promptly sat on her bum and scowled at him. "It's no good, Fred. She doesn't understand."_

 _"_ _We'll have to climb in, then," Fred said decisively._

 _George knelt down without discussion, and Fred climbed onto his back. Ginny squealed as Fred threw one leg into the crib and clapped her hands when Fred pulled George off the dresser with a thump that bounced all three children._

 _"_ _Bun-bun."_

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _Bun-bun," Ginny repeated. When her brothers simply stared at her, Ginny raised her voice and pointed for emphasis. "Bun-bun!"_

 _Fred and George turned in unison, spotting a stuffed rabbit halfway across the room, well out of their reach._

 _"_ _Bun-bun's asleep, Ginny," George said. "Like we should be, right now." He laid down beside her, closing his eyes and making snoring noises, but Ginny pulled herself up on the rail._

 _"_ _Bun. Bun," she said, firmly and clearly._

 _"_ _No Bun-bun, Gin-Gin," Fred said. "Me and George are going to sleep with you instead! That will be fun, yeah?" He smiled brightly at her._

 _Ginny looked from her stuffed animal to her brothers and her expression crumpled. "No Bun-bun?"_

 _Fred and George looked at each other. Ginny sucked on her fingers and waited._

 _Fred sighed. "I'll do it."_

 _Ginny watched with anxious eyes as Fred climbed out of the cot onto the dresser, stepped down onto the corner of an open drawer, and crossed the room. He lobbed the rabbit over the rail and she hugged the animal tightly, smearing it with snot. Beaming, Ginny babbled at Fred as he flopped into the cot, which squeaked ominously._

 _"_ _Can we please go to sleep now?" George said._

 _He and Fred lay down and Ginny copied them, wiggling herself in between, one arm around Bun-bun and the other around Fred, who dropped a kiss on her head._

 _"_ _Night-night, Gin-Gin."_

Adult Ginny was in tears. She got up, pulled George into a standing position, and hugged him fiercely.

"Thank you. Thank you for choosing memories of him."

George returned the hug with his head bent close to hers. "He was so proud of you. Even before you brought the Chosen One into the family."

Ginny punched his shoulder. "I love you," she said.

"I know. Otherwise you wouldn't have hit me so hard." He smirked, and Ginny punched him again, ignoring the fact that his smile didn't reach his eyes.


	5. Ron

**_I Should Have Listened to My Little Sister (There, I Said It) by Ron Weasley_**

 _The scarlet background faded and Ron's room appeared. Pigwidgeon gnawed on an owl nut on top of the dresser, and Ron and Ginny sat in the floor on either side of a chessboard in the space usually occupied by Harry's camp bed._

 _"_ _Hermione wrote me about the trip she took with her parents, but she didn't say when she was coming here," Ginny said. "I hope it's soon."_

 _"_ _Fifty-eight hours and thirteen minutes," Ron said, then flushed bright red. "Er, I mean Thursday."_

In the ballroom, Hermione turned to Ron. "I used to count down the time too," she said, and they exchanged a smile.

 _Ginny raised one eyebrow. "That's three days before Harry."_

 _"_ _Is it?"_

 _"_ _You do know when your best mate is arriving, yeah? The one who's actually going to be staying in this pigsty you call a room?" She wrinkled her nose and nudged a pile of dirty laundry with one foot._

 _"_ _Course I do. It's your move."_

 _Ginny waved a pawn forward. "Wonder why that is."_

 _"_ _Why what is?" Ron studied the chessboard, avoiding his sister's gaze._

 _"_ _Hermione. Wonder why she's coming three days before Harry. I told her Dumbledore said Sunday."_

 _"_ _No idea," Ron said, advancing his knight._

 _Ginny sighed and flipped her hair behind her shoulder. "She did mention helping me revise for O.W.L.s this year. Maybe she wants to get an early start."_

 _"_ _That's probably it."_

 _Pig fluttered down onto the windowsill, and Ginny fed him another owl nut from her pocket._

 _"_ _Or it could be because she wants to spend time with you without Harry, you daft git."_

 _"_ _We are friends," Ron said defensively._

 _"_ _You should ask her to Hogsmeade."_

 _"_ _On Thursday?"_

 _Ginny rolled her eyes. "No, you idiot, once we get to school. When the notices go up, you should ask her to go to Hogsmeade with you. She'd like that."_

 _"_ _We always go to Hogsmeade together."_

 _"_ _Yeah, with Harry. That's not what I meant and you know it."_

 _Ron looked his sister in the face for the first time since Hermione's name was mentioned. "Is this a plot to get Harry on his own so you can go with him?"_

 _"_ _It's not a plot at all. It's advice from someone who knows what Hermione says about you when you're not around." Ginny shrugged. "But if you're not interested, that's okay." She ignored the jeering of Ron's queen and made a play._

 _Several moves passed in silence._

 _"_ _What does she say?"_

 _"_ _I'm not telling."_

 _Ron flung a captured pawn at her, which Ginny caught in one hand._

 _"_ _Thanks a lot," he said._

 _"_ _I won't repeat what she's said to me in confidence, but I do think you should ask her out. What does that tell you, eh?" Seeing she was going to lose, Ginny tipped her king over and leaned back on both hands._

 _"_ _She deserves someone better. Someone smarter." Ron pulled over the box and began packing the chess pieces away._

 _"_ _Like who? And don't say Harry. She's not coming three days early to see him."_

 _Ron shrugged._

 _"_ _So, Hermione's too good for you and no one else is good enough for her. That's stupid, Ron."_

 _"_ _If you're just going to insult me, then get out."_

 _Ginny sighed and passed him the folded chessboard. "I'm just saying … you may think you're not good enough, but Hermione's chosen you. And she's the smartest person I know. Think about that, why don't you."_

 _She stood and left the room, leaving Ron gaping after her._

"See, Hermione? I tried," Ginny said as the screen faded.

"So did I," Harry said. "He wouldn't listen to me, either."

"We needed to do it on our own, that's all," Hermione said.

"You're both bloody stubborn, is all," Harry retorted.

 ** _Sisters Are the Best Cheerleaders by Ron Weasley_**

 _Ron gave the Fat Lady the password and climbed into the Gryffindor Common Room, careful not to knock his broomstick against the frame._

 _"_ _Where have you been?" Ginny popped out of an armchair that had hidden her small figure completely._

 _Ron jumped. "Bloody hell, Ginny!"_

 _She crossed her arms. "So? Where have you been?"_

 _"_ _None of your business." Ron brushed by her._

 _"_ _Tell me where you've been or I'll tell Hermione you're meeting a girl."_

 _He turned. "It's not a girl!"_

 _"_ _I know that, but Hermione won't." She eyed the broomstick in his hand. "Have you been practicing Quidditch?"_

 _"_ _No, Divination," Ron said. "It helps me connect with my inner eye, flying by moonlight."_

 _"_ _Are you going to try out for Keeper now that Oliver's gone?" Ginny said with interest._

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _Which position? Keeper?"_

 _"_ _I was thinking about it, yeah," Ron said gruffly. "Charlie and the twins used to—"_

 _"_ _I remember. You weren't bad. Want some help?"_

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _Do you want some help?" she repeated. "Someone to throw Quaffles at you so you can practice blocking them?"_

 _"_ _You can't fly."_

 _"_ _I can too. Just because you lot never let me play with you doesn't mean I don't know how. At the very least, I can charm the Quaffle for you."_

 _"_ _I can do that myself," Ron said, turning towards the stairs again._

 _"_ _I won't tell Harry. Or Hermione. If you decide not to try out, I won't tell anyone."_

 _He stopped._

 _"_ _Tomorrow, while everyone's at dinner?" Ginny said._

 _"_ _All right," Ron said after a moment. "Harry has detention at five. Meet me on the pitch?"_

 _"_ _I'll be there."_

 _The scene changed and became a montage of practices. Ron and Ginny flying at dusk, she darting in every direction and throwing Quaffles by hand. Ron and Ginny flying in the rain, their robes plastered to them and Ginny charming the Quaffle because it was too wet to grasp. Ginny cheering when he made a good save. Ron teasing her as they walked back to the castle. Ginny making up a believable excuse when they met Fred and George in the hallway. Ginny lying to Hermione when she asked her to go to the library. A small, red blob in the crowd at try-outs, jumping and waving her arms and whistling with every catch Ron made. And finally, the week of the Slytherin match, a mysterious malady among various heckling Slytherins in which their nasal mucus transformed to take flight and beat them about the head and face._

"He talks about you all the time," Harry said to Ginny. "He always has. I swear, I knew more about you before I came to the Burrow that first time than any of your brothers."

"Hogwarts was the first time we'd ever been separated," Ginny said. "Being friends with Ron was a requirement for your position, you know. I'd never exclude him from my life."

"Lucky for me I ticked that box early, then," Harry said, and leaned in and kissed her.

* * *

a/n: For those of you who have asked, the first section of **"In Love and War,"** the Romione version of "Faintest, Slimmest, Wildest Chance" covering the summer after the end of the war, is currently in beta and will be posted soon! Thanks, everyone, for reading and reviewing and following and favoriting :)

ktoo


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